Having grown up with a mother who adored Frank Sinatra and played his music almost every day, I felt I knew a lot about him and his on-and-off, dysfunctional relationship with Ava. However, I gained more insight and learned so much about their careers and them, both together and separate, in this book. Most of the time the narrative read like a page turner. Sometimes there were just a few paragraphs that covered a specific incident, but these shorter sections didn't seem smoothly connected and it felt more like the author was simply presenting events he had researched in chronological order. What were Frank and Ava doing in the timeframes between those events? I also learned a lot about many other stars during that period and how their lives were involved with Frank and Ava. That was a bonus and quite enlightening. I hope the final publication has pictures. How did they look at the end of their lives? I will be passing this book on to my mother and her friends. Anyone who is a fan of Sinatra or who wants to learn more about the stars of that era will enjoy this book.

I'm so glad I was able to read this book and I enjoyed it very much. This book made me think about the many difficult choices we have to make in life and whether our lives would have been different if we went in another direction. I liked the alternating chapters dealing with the two choices, and the story lines were believable. It was actually a page turner because I cared about the main character and the consequences of her choices. Who hasn't wondered about a romantic partner from the past? The friendship between the two women was amazing and well developed. It was well written and much better than I initially thought from the story description. It would be a good book for a book club or for people who want to discuss relationships and "what ifs" and who are agonizing over life decisions. Is there a plan already written for our lives but there are different paths to get there? Are there parallel universes? For these discussions, I'll bring the cinnamon rolls. I now want to read more books by this author.

There is so much history and detailed information about the age of Romanticism packed into this book and it was fun to read. I want to see all the places he describes and read even more about the people he has thoroughly researched. I will reread it before I go to Paris to make sure I follow his very well laid out paths. It has inspired me to reread French literature. When possible, I hope the pictures are in color in the final publication and it would be so helpful to have maps showing the locations he describes. This book alone will increase tourism to Paris. Tour groups heading to Paris would enjoy reading and discussing this book as would history and literature students. Take this book with you to Paris!

Having worked in the mental health field for several decades, I was thrilled to receive a copy of this book. To learn how such a brilliant psychiatric patient described his many symptoms, treatments, disappointments, rejections, escapades, etc. was fascinating. Having seen myself the same manic patient present with different symptoms over time, it was interesting to read his own descriptions of his episodes. What else would he have discovered in his research if he had not been sidetracked by psychotic episodes that were untreatable at the time? No doubt he would have benefited greatly from medications that are available today to other bipolar patients and could have avoided the inhumane and horrid methods used in the 1940s. I watched a good family friend deteriorate during many manic states prior to her receiving Lithium. The author wanted to honor her father's wish to have his journal published. What a journey she went on learning about her father, why he was "away" and that he did not just abandon her. It's an amazing story that she even found his journal, and I was touched and saddened by what he and his family and friends went through because of his mental illness. There are still many people who do not understand mental illness and think patients can control their symptoms. This book would be helpful to families living through a similar nightmare or to groups of people trying to understand how someone feels when in a manic state. This should be read by anyone who wants to understand more about manic depression and other types of mental illness.

The premise of this book was intriguing, and I was excited to receive a copy. I really enjoyed the beginning of the story; however, it then wandered into the bizarre. I didn't find The Game to be believable - what adults would willingly take drugs and spill such personal secrets until totally exhausted? It seemed very cruel, occasionally violent, and an odd way for writers to get ideas for future stories. I didn't really care about the characters and liked the story less and less as it went on. The main character teaches English and then destroys student essays? A virus changes books? The violence involving the dogs at the end seemed unnecessary. There were too many questions and mysteries left unresolved. Maybe this book needed Ms. White's editing. Book clubs could certainly discuss the merits of a children's literary society for budding writers, how revealing intimate details about yourself can affect relationships, how writers get ideas for their stories, and keeping secrets. But I wouldn't recommend this book.

Well written, thought provoking, and hard to put down. It is a creative and intriguing story line, and the religious aspect was not too hard hitting. The ending was too abrupt for me unless there is a sequel in the works. Peter's character was nicely developed, but I wanted to know more about some of the other characters. And why was he chosen to go when he clearly didn't fit the mold of the other people there who didn't have such a strong attachment to someone back "home." I would probably have enjoyed more information about the development of this new community and what those people did all day (besides meet in the cafeteria or work out) than some of the seeming unnecessary details about Peter's life. Peter's detachment from and struggles with the rest of his world after immersing himself into the life of the "aliens" was well described and understandable. I do think this would provide interesting discussions for a book club or people who like sci-fi. Moving to another planet is a fascinating topic.

I really enjoyed this book, and probably could have read it in one sitting. I enjoyed the alternating stories so many years apart. However, it seemed to end abruptly and was a little unsatisfying after spending so much time with these characters. I wanted to know more about the generations after Imogen. I wanted to know more about what happened in that house through the years since it played such an important role in the book. A book club might enjoy discussing the different lifestyles, status of women, and morals of the two periods.

The plot kept my interest and I appreciated this timely story being told from several points of view. I would have benefited from a map of the regions and a timeline of that period of history, just to add to my understanding of the historical background. The characters were not fully developed but were believable. There is much to discuss for book clubs and others about ever-changing international events, America's involvement or lack of involvement in those events, the idealism of spies, what attracts some people to immoral behavior, how people's world views and philosophy change over time, etc. There are a lot of characters to remember. For me, it was a page turner and I enjoyed the surprises along the way. I will look for more books by this author.

As historical fiction, I was fascinated with this story about the Turks' involvement in assisting the Jews escape from Hitler and learning more about the lives of the Turkish diplomats. The true reporting of the bravery, valor, and compassion of those who helped the Jews and other groups during WWII is always compelling. However, this was not beautiful prose, some of the plot lines went nowhere, and some of the writing seemed choppy which could certainly be due to translation. The author did a good job describing the deteriorating, scary conditions for the Jews in France, the work of the diplomats, the false sense of security that many people had living in France, the fear of being questioned by the SS and often not knowing what ever happened to a friend or relative who was taken away by the SS, and building tension during the train ride. This book had a lot more potential and feels somewhat incomplete. I would have enjoyed more detail about how this train ride was conceived and pulled together. Even so, I think it would lend itself to book club discussions and to groups interested in World War II and, specifically, the lesser known topic of the Turks' assistance to the Jews. Young people should learn about these heroes.

It was almost impossible to put this book down and, when I had to, I couldn't wait to get back to the letters and to these characters I had come to care about. I wanted to find out the end of their stories, yet I didn't want the book or the letters to end. Several moral issues are raised that could be discussed by book clubs, along with the lasting emotional and physical impact of war on families and friends. This quote had an impact: "You'll never know if you are on the right course for your life until you see the course that has brought you to where you are today." We are also reminded of how powerful "snail mail" letters can be in this new era of communicating via short emails and text messages, abbreviations, and emoticons. I loved this book, definitely recommend it to everybody, and will be giving it to several people for gifts.

A well written mystery involving a collision between an Amish family riding in their buggy and a high speed vehicle - was it an accident or murder? There was a lot of interesting information about police procedure and Amish culture. The characters were developed well. It is a page turner and I was really surprised by the ending. I look forward to reading the other books in this series but will note that this book stands alone. It would lend itself to fascinating discussions about the Amish way of life.

The only reason I didn't read this book in one sitting was that I started it too late at night. It was difficult to know which characters to trust and/or which characters might be imagining events. The reader was taken on this thriller ride right along with Geniver. I didn't think it started slowly. I was captivated by her story and character from the beginning and then was pulled in for all the twists and turns. Was she naive or just overwhelmed with unexpected news that seemed too good to be true? Fast-paced, plenty of suspense, quite the page turner. I definitely see this as a future movie. With the differing opinions of reviewers on this site (the beginning is slow or not, plot is unbelievable or not, characters are likable/believable or not, etc.), perhaps this would be a good book for a book club to discuss the various reactions. I would definitely recommend this book.

This multigenerational, heartbreaking story of families in post-revolutionary Iran is mesmerizing and beautifully written. Imprisonment, torture, execution, constant fear, and families torn apart are difficult to read about; and yet there is also hope and love among the family members and "proof that it's possible to reconstruct something beautiful out of devastated debris." Such a personal look into their lives motivates me to learn more about Iran. There is much here to discuss by book club members.

This novel was engrossing, informative, and somewhat mysterious. I enjoyed learning about the life of a lighthouse guardian, and the descriptions of the lifestyle at that time and the surrounding scenery were well written. The characters were intriguing and fairly well developed, especially Trudy. There are several aspects of this story appropriate for a book club discussion. I appreciated the slow pace and the haunting tale.

This book is a page turner, a political/spy thriller, with nonstop action. I am glad I found the glossary at the back of the book before I started reading it because there are a lot of technical military and government terms. I learned enough about the main character to like him but look forward to more character development. I almost read the whole book in one sitting. Can't wait to read his first novel. I would enjoy following a character like Will through several undercover assignments, such as with the Jason Bourne books.

An easy to read murder mystery set in a community of Shakers in the late 1700s. A traveling weaver arrives at this community looking for his son and is later asked to help solve a murder. I learned a lot about the Shaker lifestyle and was actually surprised by some of that information. The characters were interesting and well developed. The author did a good job of making the story believable and connecting the various story lines. I think this would be a good book for a book club partially because of the different lifestyles and historical information. This is a fun and fast read. I look forward to the next installment.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The chapters alternate between characters in 1972 and 1996, and this can be confusing at times. The characters are likable though numerous. The historical context with the political and religious struggles was made more personal seeing it through the eyes of the various characters. The foreshadowing was a bit much at times, and it was a stretch that the uncle would write such detail and descriptions in his journal. I enjoyed the romance and reincarnation themes.

I really enjoyed the combination of murder mystery and political intrigue. We got to follow the leads as the detectives uncovered them. The pre-World War II setting in Russia was well described along with the conflicts some people felt with their government. The distrust of others, the fear of appearing disloyal to the government, the worry of the detectives about how high in the government the leads would take them, all were ever present in the story. I will read the author's first book now and definitely recommend this book to others. It would provide many avenues of discussion for a book club.

I really enjoyed this book and thought the characters were mostly well developed. The plot was a bit predictable at times. The viewpoint of the chapters alternates between Evie in the past and her daughter Toni in the present, and this flowed well. I think it would be an interesting book to discuss at a book club because most people can relate to family dysfunction to some degree. This quote will stay with me: "Sometimes you just have to accept the magic that comes into your life and leave it be."

I have wanted to read this book for a long time and was excited to receive a copy to review. This time travel adventure has enough history, old Scottish dialect and culture, romance, sex, war, and violence for just about anybody. It might be too long for many book clubs. The sympathetic characters and their adventures make me want to read the next book in the series, even though the plot is at times a little unbelievable. A little too long but it's worth reading.